ReadiGrass
ReadiGrass is a premium quality forage which is ideal for horses and ponies without access to grazing. The original dried grass, it is grown, harvested and dried with great care on our farm in Yorkshire - absolutely nothing is added. Water is removed gently from the grass in our low temperature drying process, retaining the natural flavours, wonderful smell, colour and most importantly the high nutrient value of fresh grass.
This gives a feed that is more nutritious than hay yet still contains the digestible fibre essential for every horse’s health. For horses with limited access to fresh pasture it’s as close to fresh grass as you can get without being in a field!
ReadiGrass is available in 15kg bales.
ReadiGrass can be fed for a variety of reasons including;
- Horses with limited access to fresh pastures
- For older horses or those with poor dentition who are struggling to chew long stem fibres
- To prevent weight loss when horses come in from summer grazing to winter stabling
- High energy from digestible fibre makes it a great alternative to hard feeds
- To avoid dust allergies caused by storage moulds in hay
- To supplement, or completely replace poor quality hay of low nutritional value
- As a palatable accompaniment to mask medicines or supplements
- As a treat or a change for a horse bored with winter forage
Please also see Friendly ReadiGrass for small animals.
Readigrass is available nationwide from all good feedstores.
To find a stockist close to you
Find a stockist
Alternatively, single bales may be ordered from Friendship Estates directly. The price includes delivery to mainland UK.
Please note: due to Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the courier, we are currently unable to send these large bales by post.
Once everything has eased, we hope to start selling the large packs again!
Readigrass is still readily available from a wide range of stockists.
- General Information
- Nutritional Information
- Composition
- Feeding Information
General Information
What’s good about ReadiGrass?
- High feed value
- Rich in digestible fibre for healthy gut function
- Natural source of nutrients including calcium and phosphorus in the correct ratio
- Dust extracted for a healthy respiratory tract
- The drying process prevents fungal spores and other contaminants found in hay
- Very versatile - can be used as a treat, a chaff-type bucket feed, or as a partial/complete hay replacer
- No molasses, no added oil or any other additives
- Highly palatable to even fussy eaters
- Suitable for all horses and ponies, other than those prone to laminitis or required to lose weight
- Naturally low in starch
- Reduces bolting of feed and encourages chewing to sustain correct wear of teeth
- Reduces boredom – Edinburgh University research shows that short chop forage takes longer to eat than long chop forage
Nutritional Information
Typical Analysis:
- Protein 15%
- Crude fibre 21%
- Oil 3%
- Calcium 0.55%
- Phosphorus 0.27%
- Total sugar 10-12%
- Starch < 0.1%
- Equine Digestible Energy 10MJ/kg
Composition
Dried grass
Feeding Information
- Always ensure that fresh water is available
- Most horses enjoy ReadiGrass dry, however it may alsobe dampened slightly
- As with all new feeds introduce gradually into your horse’s diet
Example of Daily diet for a 500kg horse.
| Workload
|
Example diet A
|
Example diet B
|
| Maintenance
|
50% (3.75 kg) ReadiGrass
50% Hay |
50% (3.75 kg) ReadiGrass
50% Chaff |
| Medium Work
|
50% (5 kg) ReadiGrass
40% Hay 10% Concentrates |
100% (10 kg) ReadiGrass
|
| Hard Work
|
50% (6.25 kg) ReadiGrass
25% Hay 25% Concentrates |
80% (10 kg) ReadiGrass
20% Concentrates |
Reviews
| Name | Posted on | Comment | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anne-Marie | 15/01/2020 | I can't recommend readigrass enough. My miniture Shetland foal became very poorly last year and ended up having colic surgery. Due to his young age and the surgery we had to be very careful when feeding. Readigrass has been great for this. He loves it. It's really helped us introduce food following his surgery. Thank you for this feed |
|
| Louisa | 18/05/2019 | I can’t rate Readigrass highly enough. It is excellent for keeping weight on my 27 year old warmblood. The quality is so much better than the cheaper brands (which he won’t eat) and it is worth every penny. |
|
| ann | 03/04/2019 | After visiting a friend that uses Readigrass she gave me a small bag to try as my old boy suffers i was concerned about him having it but my vet advised me because i have no grass in the field where he is along with my mare it would be fine to feed it he is a different pony 30 years old in may his coat is more shiney and he looks great now so big thanks for a great product Ann |
|
Frequently Asked Questions
Readigrass is very flexible in how it can be fed. You can use a couple of scoops in a bucket feed as a chaff alternative, or a small amount as a treat. You can also use it as a partial, or complete hay replacer. We would recommend using a big tubtrug, to allow feeding ad lib.
Most horses enjoy ReadiGrass dry, however it can be dampened slightly with water. As with all new feeds, please introduce any changes gradually, to allow your horse to adapt. Always ensure fresh water is available.
ReadiGrass is very versatile in how it can be fed, which determines the quantity you will feed. Always work out your horse’s feed requirement based on their weight, body condition score and workload.
A handful of ReadiGrass can be fed as a treat, or ½ - 2 scoops can be fed as a chaff alternative in the bucket feed. When feeding as a partial or complete hay replacer Readigrass has less water content, and is therefore lighter than hay, so you would feed less weight than you would in your haynet.
Yes, ReadiGrass is ideal for both older horses and those with dental problems. It is a shorter and softer product compared to long stem fibres meaning horses find it much easier to chew. This avoids the problems of forage being dropped, balled up or wasted. Horses who struggle to graze naturally due to dental problems or tooth loss will find ReadiGrass much easier to chew.
Readigrass is very similar to good grazing, as we only take the water out. This means that it has the same, naturally-occurring sugars as fresh grass. For this reason, we cannot recommend it to horses with Cushings, or those prone to laminitis.